Derby Teaching Hospitals chief joins GS1 board

The Supervisory Board is responsible for the governance of GS1 UK and determines the organisation’s strategy, annual operating plan and budget.

Boyle’s appointment, the first time a chief executive of an NHS Trust has been appointed to the Supervisory Board, is in recognition of the leading work Derby Teaching Hospitals has undertaken to improve patient safety, enhance clinical effectiveness and drive operational efficiencies through implementing GS1 standards in healthcare.

The trust became one of six demonstrator sites awarded funds from the Department of Health to demonstrate the benefits of GS1 and PEPPOL standards through the Scan4Safety programme in 2014, implemented GS1 standards in all 35 surgical theatres, cath Lab and radiology suites and endoscopy since - saving the trust £1.2 million in 2016/17 and an expected £3 million in 2017/18.

Boyle said: “I’m delighted to be the first NHS chief executive to join GS1 UK’s Supervisory Board. I’m excited by the opportunity this technology gives us to change the way we work across the NHS. By adopting barcodes we can improve patient safety, reduce unwarranted clinical variation and produce substantial savings. We’re leading the way at Derby Teaching Hospitals and I am keen to help other NHS organisations see the real benefits that come from adopting GS1 standards in healthcare.”

You can read Glen Hodgson’s article on how ‘never events’ can be prevented through the use of GS1 standards here